


i'm blinking so (your blinding light)

by indigo_penstrokes



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Post-Canon, Sunsets, its good, juno is a lil touch starved, taz always needs more wlw, theyre really really soft and gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 19:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20857211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigo_penstrokes/pseuds/indigo_penstrokes
Summary: juno is stressed so sarah takes her out on a sunset hiking trip





	i'm blinking so (your blinding light)

It had been about a week since the Kepler Apocalypse and Juno Divine found herself at a crossroads. The Forestry Service had nominated her for a position all the way near the top, and if she took it she would be leaving Kepler, maybe for good. On the other hand if she didn’t take it she would be in Kepler for the foreseeable future, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She loved Kepler in all its weirdness, both old and new. But there was something else making her drag her feet through the whole ordeal.

“Hey Juno.” And that something had just strolled into the ranger station. 

“Hey Sarah, how’re things up at the telescope?” 

Dr. Sarah Drake, astrophysicist, Chosen One, and the current fascination of Juno’s unruly heart. The two had grown closer during the end of the world, and it was a friendship that only grew closer as time progressed. They were both somewhat secluded in their areas of study, more fond of the sky and the woods than other people. Maybe that's why they seemed to click. Maybe it was a thousand other things.

“Not a whole lot, space has been pretty quiet since the whole End That Wasn’t Thing. Though, there is supposed to be a meteor shower coming up soon that should be pretty interesting.” Sarah leaned against the doorframe, hands tucked casually in her pockets and a flannel pulled taut across her shoulders. Underneath the flannel she was wearing a shirt from a metal band Juno didn't recognize, an impressive feat considering she had witnessed Jane’s punk phase. “How’re things on this side of the woods?” 

“Quieter now, a little lonely with Duck on vacation with Indrid, but I think I’ll manage just fine now that there aren't any more Abominations running amok through the forests.” She bit her lip, against the other words that wanted to spill out. She wasn’t a great liar, certainly better than Duck, but things she wanted to keep secret nearly always managed to worm their way to the surface without her consent.

“Is that all?” Sarah raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

“Well, uh, no. I got a promotion.” Except the last four words came out as one that was muffled by her hand as she picked up the letter with the other. 

Sarah crossed the room in three long strides, before taking the letter and reading it carefully. A few minutes passed of her walking around the station as she read and Juno watching her in anticipation, for what exactly she wasn't quite sure. And if she got to admire Sarah in the filtered sunlight then that was no one's business but her own. 

“June, this came a week ago, why haven't you taken it yet? This is the chance of a lifetime and you deserve it more than anyone else I can think of.” She had come to a complete stop right in front of Juno's desk and planted herself there, hands braced on the front edge of the desk. 

Juno was still reeling from Sarah calling her June that she couldn't really get a coherent sentence to form so what came out instead was, “you don't know everyone in the Forestry Service.” 

“But they know you, Juno Divine, and if they think you earned this then you, pardon my French, damn well did.” Seemingly remembering herself she stepped back, placing the letter back down between them and hands back in her pockets.

Juno was blushing at this point, and god damn it she was supposed to be past this “blushy teenager” phase in her romantic attractions, but seeing Sarah so worked up about something on her own behalf threw all that out the window and left her a flushed, stammering mess. “I am pretty good at what I do, and I did kick a lot of Quell ass, but that wasn't all me it was the others too, the rest of the rangers that answered the call.”

“But it was your call they answered.” Sarah’s smug expression was back as if she'd just won an argument with flying colors. 

“I- yeah. Yeah it was.” A flicker of that same pride she had felt the night the Quell attacked sparked to life in her chest. A half smile, half smirk was starting to creep onto her face. Maybe she was over thinking this whole thing, maybe she did deserve the recognition she was getting. And if they really really wanted her then she would fight to stay in Kepler.

“And it was you who burned those fuckers up. That was all you, the amazing Juno Divine.” A smile spread across her features, lighting them up from the inside out.

Juno snorted at that, rolling her eyes. If it had been Duck saying that she would have had a clever jab at the ready about being better than him, but it wasn’t Duck, it was Sarah. Everything was different with Sarah. Time seemed to move so much faster, sometimes that made her want to curl up and hide from the world until it slowed back down. Their time together never seemed to last long enough and she found herself hoping and wishing the physicist would stop by more often. There was also the way her heart did somersaults around her that made her feel like she had leapt from the top of the Green Bank Telescope and was hurtling towards the ground below.

“If you don't see it, I'll show you. Go on a hike with me, show me the best places to watch the sunset.” Sarah nodded towards the door, that smug knowing look was back again, but this time Juno didn't really mind. “Show me the forests of Kepler through the eyes of Juno Divine.”

“Oh alright.” She tried to act like this wasn't something she wanted to do, that she hadn’t been wanting to do for a while, when the opposite was the truth. She had been thinking of taking Sarah out hiking for a while now, she just couldn't figure out how to ask her. “Let’s go,” she grumbled, grabbing her pack from off the floor and shouldering it.

“Lead the way.” Sarah looked all too pleased with herself.

The moment they stepped outside Juno felt back in her element, she belonged between the trees that much was obvious to anyone who met her. There was still that urge to grab Sarah’s hand as she showed her every square foot of the Monongahela forest. But that would have to wait for another time, right now she had a singular perfect spot in mind and it would be cutting it close if she wanted to make it there before the sun completely set. 

With that Juno set off at a clip, knowing Sarah was following her as they disappeared among the jewel tone leaves. 

The forest was alive around them, cicadas sang their buzzing songs, birds chirped as they hopped around in the canopy above their heads. Even the sunlight seemed to be more vivid than normal, it cast everything in dappled patches that made everything feel ethereal, unreal. It was this ordinary magic that Juno had fallen in love with all those years ago. 

As they walked she pointed out interesting growth formations in trees, patches of wildflowers that should have quit blooming weeks ago, and how if you held your breath you could hear the babbling of the creek a few yards away. 

And Sarah drank in every single word of it from her spot next to Juno. She had her hands out of her pockets, swinging them idly by her sides as she kept pace with Juno. Her head was tipped back enough to see the peaks of sky through the dense trees. “So how much longer ‘til we get there?” 

“Oh, ‘bout half a mile, and we still have twenty minutes ‘til the sun sets so we should get there just in time.” She snuck a glance at Sarah and almost stopped dead in her tracks, struck suddenly by just how beautiful she was. How her night dark hair turned to almost a burnished auburn when the sun hit it just right, and the way she looked so open, taking in everything from the world around her. In short Sarah was breathtaking.

Sarah must have felt her looking because she turned to meet Juno's gaze, a light pink coloring her cheeks, or maybe that was just the dying light. “Is there something in my hair?” 

“Oh! What? No, no there isn’t. The lighting is just really nice and I wish I had my sketch book with me is all.” She turned her focus back to the trail, hoping Sarah didn’t see the red tinge that was no doubt all the way up to her ears. 

“I didn’t know you drew.” The way she phrased it left it open for Juno to elaborate. Her hand brushed against Juno’s. 

“It’s not much, just a hobby. I mostly draw plants since they’re easier than people a lot of the time.” She shrugged, ignoring the sparks that shot up her arm from the momentary contact. 

“Are you calling me easy Juno Divine?” Sarah’s tone was bright with teasing as she clutched a hand to her heart. 

“What! No! Of course not!” Juno spluttered, face definitely red by now. “If anything it would be a challenge to get it right since you're pretty much perfect.” 

Realizing her blunder Juno went wide eyed and turned down a very much not forestry service approved path. “Turn here.” 

Sarah followed diligently, not saying anything about Juno’s heartfelt comment, though the soft smile on her face showed that it’s sentiment was not all lost. 

They walked for a few more minutes, Juno quietly pointing out interesting facts, like how the pawpaw fruits would be ripe soon and how she’d have to collect contraband fruit from hikers with sticky fingers, or how to wild geraniums often got stepped on since they barely reached more than six inches off the ground along with the trout lilies. They passed by a dogwood that was just past its peak, it’ pink flowers drooping and dropping petals to the forest floor below. 

“We should be just about there.” And with Juno’s words an outcropping of rock slowly appeared out of the trees, it's limestone surface glittering in the fading sunlight. A westward facing ledge sat roughly twenty feet above their heads, illuminated in the golden light. 

“There's sort of a path carved into the side over here, and like I said it's not a Forestry Service sanctioned outlook, but we came up here all the time as kids and if Duck didn’t fall to his death then we should be fine now.” Juno rambled a bit, hazarding a cautious glance at Sarah who just smiled warmly at her looking completely at home against the backdrop of maples and beeches. 

Juno nodded to herself and started up the not quite shallow slope. Her hands found all the nooks and handholds with the ease of someone who had done this yesterday and not twenty years ago. Before she even realized she was higher than six feet she was pulling herself up onto the ledge. 

The ledge was really less of a ledge and more of deep step in the side of the mountain, reaching about ten feet back and fifteen feet wide. A carpet of mosses and grass grew on some of the rock, they were soft under her hands. 

“You doin’ okay down there Sar?” She peaked over the edge to see Sarah two thirds of the way up. She had rolled up the sleeves of her flannel and if Juno watched carefully she could see the flex of her shoulders under the plaid fabric. 

“Just peachy darlin’.” And of course she had the audacity to throw a wink up to Juno who simply blew a raspberry back at her. 

After a few moments Sarah’s head appeared and she hauled herself up onto the ledge, drawing in a sharp breath as she pushed off the limestone surface. “Fuck, I think I cut my hand.” 

“Lemme see it.” Juno was already unpacking the first aid kit from her bag, taking out the gauze, pads, and an antiseptic wipe. 

Sarah held her hand out tentatively, and sure enough there was an angry looking red line cut across her palm, blood already starting to bead up at the edges. Juno cradled the injured appendage gingerly as she studied it closely. It looked fairly shallow with only some dirt and grime in it, which was a relief, anything too deep would probably mean a trip to St Xavier’s. 

“It doesn’t look to deep thank god, but this is gonna hurt like a bitch.” Was all the warning she gave before dabbing the hydrogen peroxide soaked wipe against the abrasion and cleaning away any bits of rock or dirt. 

Sarah hissed in a breath between her teeth, but held still with great resolve. “Damn Juno, a little more warning might’ve been nice.”

Juno huffed out a laugh as she placed a dry pad across her palm. “Maybe it would’ve, but where’s the fun in that?” 

Sarah muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “sadist” as Juno wrapped the injury, securing it with some medical tape. It wasn’t a permanent fix, but it would be enough to keep it clean for the time being.

“Would you like me to kiss it all better?” It was a light airy joke, but they way both of them flushed rose made it seem a bit more than just a flippant question. 

“If you’d like to, I mean, go right on ahead.” Sarah wasn’t looking at Juno anymore, eyes instead fixed somewhere over the tree line near the sunset.

Without a word Juno pressed her lips gently to the bandage, making sure not to press too hard. But when was done she didn’t let go of Sarah’s hand completely, instead keeping it cradled in her lap, loosely held in her own. The air around them both seemed to grow thick, as if the world were holding its breath.

The moment felt weighted, as if all possible futures hinged on this single moment. 

“Sarah, I-” But whatever else she was going to say died on her tongue when Sarah turned back to her. Backlit and resplendent she was cast in fire and gold like a Romantics painting, the effect made even more so by the background of emerald trees and pastel streaked sky. 

“Can I kiss you?” The question was no more than an exhale of breath.

“Please do.” Sarah was just as breathless as Juno felt. 

They met each other halfway and suddenly there was nothing but stars. 

Sarah kissed like she did everything else, bold and unashamed. Her good hand came to rest at the junction of Juno’s neck and shoulder, thumb pressed to the spot just below her ear and fingers brushing through the loose hairs at the base of her neck, while the other rested at her hip, two fingers looped through the belt loop there. Meanwhile Juno’s hands found their home resting on Sarah’s shoulders, trying to pull her as close as physically possible. Then Sarah parted her lips and Juno was drowning. If this is what drowning felt like then she never wanted to breathe air again. She was drowning in the taste of coffee and cinnamon, and it matched so perfectly with Sarah it took everything in her not to melt into a Juno shaped puddle. 

Sarah was the one who broke away for a deep breath first, laughing airily when Juno chased after her hungrily like she needed more. And did she ever, it had been so long since she’d been this close with anyone that she forgot just what kind of rush kissing someone was. Her skin still felt electric where Sarah was in contact with it, and she craved more.

“You’ve got some damn good lungs if you can keep going after all that.” Sarah pressed their foreheads together, breath ghosting over Juno’s lips.

“Or I’m not a dumbass who doesn’t forget to breathe.” Juno grinned cheekily, but the smile quickly morphed into something softer, you could even call it gooey, as she stared into Sarah’s deep brown eyes.

“Touche.” Sarah pecked her on the nose before retreating fully, but not far enough away to break contact with Juno. “Now didn’t we come up here to watch the sunset?” 

“Yeah, but I like this view better.” It was true, she would take getting to bask in the beauty of Sarah Drake over any Kepler sunset. 

“You’re a sap Juno Divine, you know that?” But Sarah wasn’t watching as the last rays of daylight dipped over the horizon either. 

“I do.” And she leaned in for another kiss, one that Sarah was more than happy to give her.

The sun finished setting and stars came out of their celestial abodes, washing the fire from the world with bands of silvery lights as the two lovers lost themselves in the other. The world revolving around them for a few moments more.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic for taz, and the only one that i've seen for this ship so far, so hooray for that! as always comments and kudos make my day and encourage me to write more so if you like what you read let me know your thoughts on it down below!   
find me on tumblr @ad-astra-de-luna


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